EXCLUSIVE: Gajraj Rao reveals his father was once offered a role in a Manoj Kumar film; jokes he still says, “Role dilwao mujhe”

Actor Gajraj Rao is a well-known actor who has gained immense love owing to the unconventional characters he’s played on the silver screen. The actor – who has impressed fans in films like Bandit Queen, Dil Se.., Black Friday, Blackmail, Badhaai Ho, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, Lootcase, Maidaan and more, got candid about his career and how his father reacted to his decision to join the film industry.

During an exclusive chat with Bollywood Bubble, the actor revealed his dad was once offered a role in films and how he wished Gajraj had opted for government job initially.

Rao on his father being offered a role in a Manoj Kumar film

When asked about lyricist Santosh Anand telling his dad to come to Mumbai and he’ll make him a star, Gajraj Rao fondly went down memory lanes. He recalled, “Mere pitaji, joh ab 80 baras ke khache mein hai, ekdum mazze se batate hai yeh baat. (My father, who is currently in his 80s, loves talking about this incident.)” 

The actor continued, “Babuji humare railways mein kaam karte the – woh reservation department mein the. Pehle woh reservation clerk the joh khidki pe peeche se ticket dete the. Ab sab online ticket book karte hai, par aaj se 20 saal pehle, 15 saal pehle joh reservation mein hota tha uski badi puch hoti thi. Katare lagti thi. Toh agar jaan-pechan hoti thi toh bade kaam hote the logon ke. Isliye papa ko bada samaan milta tha. (My father worked in the railways; he was in the ticket reservation department. Nowadays people book tickets online, but 15-20 back it was a different story, there used to be lines to get tickets. If someone worked in the reservation department, they used to be respected a lot. My father was looked up to because of his job.)”

“1975 ki baat hogi. Santosh Anandji ticket karwane aaye the aur unhone mere pitaji ko dhekha. Woh bahut chahare naujawan then, mehnaat-kash aadmi the. Toh unhone (Santoshji ne) bola ki tumhara chehra, tumhare aankhen bahut kamaal ke hai. Bombay aao. Main tujhe Manoj Kumar ji se milwata hu, ek project shuru ho raha hai. Roti, kapda aur makan shayad shuru ho raha tha ya uske baad wali koi picture ho rahi thi. Unhone bahut insist kiya, pata bhi bata diya. Bola, aap aao.” (In 1975, Santosh Anand interacted with my father for a reservation and was impressed by his looks. He said come to Bombay (now Mumbai), I’ll take you to meet Manoj Kumar. We are doing a project together. He was adamant that my father come here, he even gave him his address in the city.)

Rao on his father asking him for roles now

Adding that his middle-class father was sceptical of quitting a well-paying, secured job to enter the entertainment world, Rao stated, Uss zamane mein entertainment aur cinema ko leke itni jankari nahi thi ki kya hota hai. Aas-pass ke dost ne salah di ki nahi aise filmi logo ke chakkar mein matt pado. Ab bolte hai, ‘arey main bhi kar lete toh main bhi hota ab waha par. Toh mere liye kuch kar, role do. Role dilwao mujhe, main bhi kar sakta hu (acting). (My father’s friends advised him against joining films, but now he jokes about it. He asks me to get him roles in films.)

Rao on his father wanting him to become a government employee 

He further added that his father hoped he would work in a government job like him instead of becoming an actor. He said, “Woh toh bahut mayus ho gaye the. Unhone salah di ki main railway police join karu. Ek parichit ne bola ki waha naukriya khul rahi hai aur tumhe mil jayegi. Woh zamana tha ki sarkari naukri hona jeevan ke baache rehne ka aasra mana jaata hai. Sarkari naukri matlab ek bani banayi tanka milegi, retire hone ke baad pension milegi, medical suvidha milegi. Railway aapko godh le leta hai. Main bhi thoda aaya tha ki bada aacha hai. Lekin kahi ek zidh thi (to do what I want). (My father was disappointed with my choice. He suggested I join the railway police. A family friend informed us that there were openings and that I would land the job easily. It was a time when government jobs were in demand as they provided a stable income and benefits like pension and medical coverage. I was kinda convinced to say yes to it, but ultimately decided to do what I dreamed of.)”  

He added another reason he didn’t want to do a railway job was seeing his father’s clockwork life – working an 8-4 shift, doing double duty at times for the family to have some luxuries and such. 

Rao on his father supporting his acting dreams 

Talking about why his father let him pursue a career in entertainment/acting, Rao said, “Natak dhekne aaye woh 1-2 baar, (He came to see my theatre performance a couple of times)” before continuing, “Humara ek uncle the, woh Canada mein professor the. Unhone mere natak dhekha aur papa ko bola, ‘yeh bahut hunarman hai. Agar yeh isme aacha chala toh bahut zyada financial fyada nahi hoga par izzat bahut milegi. Apna jeevan chala lega. (We had a family friend who worked in Canada. He saw my performance and told my father that I’m talented and have a future in this field. He added that even though it won’t give me a lot financially, it will give me tons of respect.)” 

Gajraj added that working in television, for newspapers and even with a tailor were his attempts to follow his dreams but still support his family financially. He stated that he tried his best never to take financial aid from his father as he had a big heart and was always there even for the extended family. He also noted that friends and family telling his father that they read his byline for interviews with stars like Yash Chopra and Anupam Kher inn newspapers made his dad proud and convinced him that he would never settle in a government job.

Watch the full interview here:

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